Senate Republican Conference Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) turned President Joe Biden’s defense of his disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump against him this week.

Following Biden’s debate against Trump two weeks ago — which has sparked calls by members of his own party to drop out of the race — Biden claimed: “I had a bad debate, but 90 minutes on stage does not erase what I’ve done for three and a half years.”

Barrasso responded to Biden’s remarks during a press conference on Wednesday, telling reporters: “Well, he’s right. Nothing can erase the damage that the Democrats have done to the American people over the last three and a half years. They’re the party of open borders and they’re the party of high prices.”

“With regards to prices, they have saddled the American people with record inflation,” he said. “It has been painful. It’s been punishing. Prices are up cumulatively 20% since they took over in January of 2021. In terms of immigration, they have invited and they have incentivized 10 million illegal immigrants to come to this country. They’ve paved the way for criminal cartels, for drug dealers, for people on the terrorist watch list to come here to rob and to rape and to murder Americans.”

“That is their record. And that’s why in record numbers, Americans are saying the country is headed in the wrong direction,” he continued. “And Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and every one of the Democrats, those that are gonna be up here speaking soon, they are all responsible for the damage that has been done. The American people want strong leadership. We’re not gonna get it from the Democrats. We cannot trust the Democrats to keep us safe or make us more prosperous. It is their policies that have caused the pain.”

He said that in order to turn the country around, Democrats needed to vote with Republicans to stop reckless spending, secure the border, and unleash American energy production.

WATCH:

.@POTUS says he had a bad night. The truth is that Democrats have had a bad 3 years.

They've saddled us with record inflation and an extra 10 million illegal immigrants since they took over in 2020. Americans want leadership we can trust, not another 4 years of “bad nights.” pic.twitter.com/Y0md3RCAcj

— Sen. John Barrasso (@SenJohnBarrasso) July 9, 2024

Former President Donald Trump holds a commanding six-point lead over incumbent President Joe Biden in Wisconsin, a critical swing state, a recent poll following the first 2024 presidential debate found.

The poll, conducted by AARP/Fabrizio Ward/Impact Research, found 44% of likely Wisconsin voters plan to vote for Trump in November, while 38% said they plan to vote for Biden. Just 9% said that they will be voting for independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr, while another 5% were undecided and 4% say they would vote for another candidate.

Trump maintains a 5-point lead against Biden when likely voters were asked who they would support in a head-to-head competition that excluded the other candidates, with Trump receiving support from 50% of likely voters compared to the 45% who would support Biden.

Among those who watched the recent debate between the two candidates, 56% said that Trump won, while 13% said that Biden won. Another 23% said that neither candidate won the debate.

Republicans are more united behind Trump than Democrats are behind Biden according to the poll, with 93% of Wisconsin Republicans supporting the former president, while just 86% of Democrats say that they support Biden. The gap in enthusiasm could have serious implications for voter turnout rates in the two parties.

While the poll found that Trump holds a significant lead over Biden, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) held the lead in her race against Republican challenger Eric Hovde, receiving 50% and 45% support of likely voters, respectively.

Wisconsin will be one of the crucial swing states in the upcoming November election, with its 10 electoral votes likely to play an important role in deciding the winner of the contest. Biden won the state against Trump by only about 20,000 votes in 2020, which was about 0.7% of those who voted in the state.

The poll is not the only public opinion survey after the first presidential debate that could spell trouble for Biden. One Suffolk University survey taken after the debate found that over 40% of Democrats believed that Biden should be replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee as he faces concerns about his health and viability.

Another post-debate poll found that 72% of voters believe that Biden is not fit to serve as the president.